Details of Provisions
The term of office of a member will begin on the day on which the member is declared to be returned, namely:
in the case of a constituency member, the day when, after the election (whether a general or a by-election) the constituency returning officer declares the candidate to be elected and returns the candidate’s name to the Clerk of the Parliament in accordance with Rule 60 of the Scottish Parliamentary Election Rules set out in Schedule 2 to the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/787);
in the case of a regional member who was returned following a general election, this is the day when the regional returning officer has announced the individual candidates or the candidates on a party list to whom the regional member seats have been allocated, declared those candidates to have been elected and returned their names to the Clerk of the Parliament in accordance with Rule 64 in Schedule 2 of the Scottish Parliamentary Election Rules (S.I. 1999/787); and
in the case of a regional member who was returned to fill a vacancy by virtue of section 10(6), the day on which notification of the name of that member was received by the Presiding Officer.
The term of office of a member ends when the Parliament is dissolved. The Parliament is dissolved, in the case of an ordinary general election, in accordance with sections 2(3)(a) or (5) and, in the case of an extraordinary general election, in accordance with section 3(2). The term of office may, however, be shortened by the effect of other provisions of the Act: for example section 14 (resignation of a member), death, disqualification (section 17) or failure to take the required oath of allegiance.